Playing with great tactical discipline and a sense of teamwork, Indios Chapaleufú ll won their fourth Argentine Open, defeating their cousins Chapa I in a final that put an end to an unforgettable high-goal season.

Chapa II’s Eduardo Heguy rides a horse of a different color. .

Winners of the Argentine Open: Eduardo “Ruso” Heguy, Milo Fernandez Araujo, Ignacio “Nachi” Heguy and Alberto “Pepe” Heguy. .

The season was hot. Tortugas and Hurlingham had spoiled fans—and those who are not so spoiled—by giving them a really good show both in the stands and on the field. It is not for nothing that there were no repeated teams among the four 2004 finalists. The Argentine Polo Association’s decision to raise the number of teams from six to eight proved that most of them had good chances of winning the cup. The enigma was posed and nobody was a big favorite. Would La Aguada Passat repeat their success? Would the great Adolfito Cambiaso take La Dolfina King Power to the podium? Would the Heguys clinch their seventh title for Indios Chapaleufú Marlboro? Would their cousins get the laurels for Chapa II again? Would Ellerstina’s youngsters claw their way to the top? Would Merlos’ brothers keep on growing with La Mariana? Would Miramar Farmacity or Isla Carroll IPC Palm Beach become surprise winners? The answer was at the cathedral’s field.

People could not reject such an offer. If Palermo usually gets hot in the last two weekends; this year it exploded. Before the first match there were 1,000 season tickets sold for stand C, the most expensive ones. If the 2003 tournament had shown an increase in the sale of tickets to gather more than 1,300,000 pesos, this year that figure was surpassed and the calculations doubled last year’s collection. And surrounding Field No. 1 there were a lot of stands, promoters and sponsors’ posters, which will result in profits for the Argentine Polo Association.

As a kind of reward to such devotion, the final was played by the two most popular teams: Indios Chapaleufú I and II, reviving the 1996 final in which Chapa II became the winners. Certainly getting there was not easy. The Marlboro team remained unbeaten after defeating La Mariana in their first game, then Miramar and defending champions La Aguada, in a great game to become the winners of Group A. Their cousins needed to be more precise to reach their sixth final since beating Isla Carroll. They were defeated by Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra by one goal. That is why they needed to beat La Dolfina by a two-goal difference in order to become the winners of Group B. Excellent teamwork enabled them to be present at the cathedral. The final started with the joyful atmosphere that usually prevails at the cathedral for every special occasion. Less than two minutes had passed when Chapa I was winning 3-0 with two goals by Bautista Heguy and another one by Juan Martín Nero, the sensational player of the tournament. Even though their rival reacted, upon the ring of the bell Bauti Heguy squeezed and put an end to the chukker, winning by 5-2.

Grooms watch the game and hold the horse for the next period in Palermo.

Horacito Heguy fell in the seventh period of the final, fracturing his neck, a couple of ribs and puncturing a lung. He spent a week in intensive care in the Hospital.

Sarah Ferguson takes in the game .

Actor Robert Duvall .

That was the end of the party for the Hurlingham champions, who were looking for their seventh title in Palermo. Nachi Heguy remained stuck to Bauti while Pepe was blocking and attacking at the same time. A penalty converted by Ruso during the second chukker gave them the chance to get back in the game, and in the third they were just one goal behind. After 16 minutes and 30 seconds without scoring, Bauti scored a goal to move away from their cousins by 6-4, but they counterattacked superbly. Pepe and Nachi made a great move to round off 7-6, for the lead.

This excellent performance continued during the fifth and sixth chukkers. While Chapa II was improving on dynamics, selfconfidence and Milo Fernández Araujo’s performance, the white and red team couldn’t find their game. Chapa II started the seventh chukker up 11-9 when the unexpected happened. Horacito Heguy was riding Surra when he fell off, rolled down the field and got seriously injured: a neck fracture and two broken ribs that involved the lungs so he had to be taken to Mater Dei Clinic. Horacito was substituted for Alejandro Agote and the match went on, although everybody thought it was over because of the tragic fall of Chapa I’s captain. The final bell rang and the scoreboard showed 15-11, so Pepe, Nachi, Milo and Ruso completed the tournament. The celebration was brief because of the hard time the family was going through, though it was moving. After all, they had won the most coveted trophy on Earth.

Once on the podium, when Nachi received the best player award his brothers made fun of him because they thought Pepe had also had a good performance. They also felt a bit disappointed for knowing that the best final polo pony award had gone to Mariano Aguerre and not to Polo Pureza, the pony that has been playing in Palermo for 12 years and with which Pepe scored four out of his seven goals. Moreover, the Lady Susan Townley award for the best polo pony of the tournament went to Nena, owned by Marcos Heguy and rode by Juan Martín Nero. And the Mejor Producto Jugador Inscripto award went to Alazanas Birra, Bautista Heguy’s pony.

Nachi Heguy scoops the ball from his nearside, while Mariano Aguerre waits for an opportunity to defend.

Summary of the final:

Indios Chapaleufú II (37):
Alberto Heguy (9) 7 goals;
Ignacio Heguy (10) 3 goals;
Milo Fernández Araujo (9) 2 goals; and Eduardo Heguy (9) 3 goals, one a penalty.

Indios Chapaleufú Marlboro (33):
Bautista Heguy (10) 5 goals, 2 of them penalties;
Mariano Aguerre (9) 2 goals;
Horacio S. Heguy (7), substituted by Alejandro Agote (7) one goal in the seventh chukker; and
Juan Martín Nero (7) 3 goals.

Development:
Indios Chapaleufú II 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 7-6, 8-7, 11-9, 12-10, and 15-11.

Umpires:
Augusto Gómez Romero and Juan José Díaz Alberdi.

Referee: Juan José Alberdi.

—Article courtesy of Polo & Polistas magazine, Argentina.

Spectators in the stands harken as a band begins an Argentine Open match.	Tango dancers put on a show for the thousands in attendance at Palermo with the office buildings in the background.	An artist paints during the Open.